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Guzman.......

06-16-2006, 07:17 PM

Boy this kid has some serious stuff today. 8 k's, tho he did balk a run over, which scored, and throw 3 walks. Still, overall he was agressive and confident. Personaly I say sit Wood and Prior, "let them count their money", and let the kids play ball, "Guzman, Marmol, and Marshall". They are the future anyways.

"Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never." :hyper:

Boy this kid has some serious stuff today. 8 k's, tho he did balk a run over, which scored, and throw 3 walks. Still, overall he was agressive and confident. Personaly I say sit Wood and Prior, "let them count their money", and let the kids play ball, "Guzman, Marmol, and Marshall". They are the future anyways.

the problem is, until this outing, guzman did jacksquat (i want to say more, but im being polite),. Until Guzman gets more than one pitch consistently, he doesnt belong starting on the big league roster.

he has to do that, otherwise its no use him being a starter since he will be rocked each and every time.

Comment

the problem is, until this outing, guzman did jacksquat (i want to say more, but im being polite),. Until Guzman gets more than one pitch consistently, he doesnt belong starting on the big league roster.

he has to do that, otherwise its no use him being a starter since he will be rocked each and every time.

Guzman's fully capable of holding down an MLB spot. When the Cubs called him up the first time, he wasn't locating his secondary pitches in the minor leagues, so chances were that he wasn't going to in the bigs. This time around though, Angel was having some success with putting the ball where he wanted before we called on him, and he looked damn good today.

Angel Guzman has an amazing and talented right arm. He has four pitches that are considered by scouts to be so good they are all strikeout pitches. Guzman was ready for the Cubs 2003 rotation but was held aside in favor of Shawn Estes. Since then Angel has suffered various arm and shoulder ailments that cost him half of the 2003 and 2004 seasons, and nearly the entire 2005 season. Some many think that Angel is growing too old, but he just turned 24 a few weeks ago, so he still has his prospect status. He is another testament to the incredible job that Oneri Fleita is doing as the Cubs Farm Director and Director of Latin American Operations.

During the 2003 spring training, Angel Guzman was given one of the highest praises possible in the baseball community. When Barry Bonds, one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, was asked which Cub pitcher, Prior, Zambrano, or Wood, was the hardest to hit, he said none of them. Yet instead Barry said Angel Guzman. And it's true, Guzman uses the same arm slot for his his two and four seem fastball as he does for his changeup and curveball.

Pitching: Angel Guzman possesses perhaps one of the best repitories of pitches in all of minor league ball. Not only does he have great location of his pitches, but he has four pitches that he can throw for strikes at any count to a hitter. His four seam fastball was topping out at 97 mph during the AFL, with average speeds of 93-96 mph. His two seam fastball topped out at 93 mph with average speeds of 89-91 mph. Factor in his offspeed stuff, changeup and curveball and he becomes deadly. During the AFL in 2005, he had good control of both especially during the early innings. It was later in his starts that he started to lose his control and his velocity would drop. But that is being related to his lack of pitching during the regular season.

Durability: Angel Guzman has been sort of the fragile man the last few years for the Cubs. He has never recorded more than 156 IP in 2002 between Lansing and Daytona as a 20 year old in 2002. Beyond that season, he's recorded just 143 1/3 during the regular season 2003-2005. He's suffered from various arm injuries from serious shoulder problems to forearm cramps. This season Guzman was having forearm issues early which caused the Cubs to shut him down. Instead of pitching, the Cubs had him lifting weights, and he gained 15 lbs of muscle during his rehab. Still as he entered the 5th or 6th inning, Angel lost the bite on his offspeed stuff and his control.